Monday Bolts – 9.26.11

KD to SI.com on hesitating to make a movie: “Yeah I did, because I always told myself that this is not the type of stuff I really do. But after I thought about it, it just told me to step outside the box and see where it takes me, and I’m really enjoying it. The weeks leading up to it, I was like, ‘Man, this is going to be one of the worst weeks of my summer,’ but I’m having one of the funnest times of my whole summer doing it too. I’m glad I decided to do it.”

Nick Collison on the current labor talks: “I can kind of see the writing on the wall. These guys (owners) are going to try to make us bleed a little to try and get what they want. That’s their game plan, because clearly they haven’t tried to negotiate. That’s kind of our stand. We try to meet in the middle somewhere, but I think they’re a little more interested in trying to break us and force a deal down our throat.”

Darnell Mayberry: “Here’s something I know every NBA fan in Oklahoma wants to hear. Durant wants to organize a pickup game in Oklahoma City. He plans on bringing in other NBA stars as well as his Thunder teammates. The hold up at this point is finding a venue. But Durant adamantly wants to see it happen. “I want to do it just for the fans of Oklahoma City who haven’t seen us play,” Durant said. He added that if the lockout stretches into late October, he’ll become more aggressive in trying to get it done.”

Mayberry was also on set with KD: “Alas, we see the Durantula in action. The mics are on. The cameras are rolling. In this scene, Durant’s agent, played by Brandon T. Jackson, is trying to break the news of “the switch.” It’s the crux of the movie. In his role, Durant is skeptical. And his acting skills are put to the test because he has to conjure up real emotions of anger and frustration. And he has to deliver it repeatedly. I’m told footage from this scene will be used in every trailer, commercial and promotional spot. It’s that significant to the storyline. And because of that, it has to be perfect.”

J.A. Adande on KD: “He needs to be playing in the NBA. That’s something that isn’t lost in the middle of a phone call from a movie set. He lets out a heavy sigh while talking about the financial issues at stake in the lockout. He sounds frustrated that his old school, Texas, keeps popping up in the middle of all of this college conference realignment talk.”

James Herbert of HP on the thought of James Harden playing beardless: “Personally, I have serious questions about how much of Harden’s on-court production is beard-dependent. If Harden was to shave the beard, I’d be hesitant to move him into the starting lineup next season. Let’s allow Scott Brooks to worry about his team’s late-game offense rather than his wing beard depth. The mere thought of a beardless Harden in the pros actually makes me extremely nervous. Let’s pretend this never happened.”

Sebastian Pruiti for Basketball Prospectus on Russell Westbrook taking the next step: “Where Westbrook really showed his improvement this past season was with the basketball in his hands. Westbrook improved his scoring both in isolation situations and when coming off of ball screens last year. Two years ago, Westbrook was an OK but not great scorer in both situations, posting 0.767 points per possession when coming off of ball screens and 0.784 PPP in isolation situations and shooting 38.8 percent and 38.2 percent, respectfully. Last season, Westbrook bumped up his rates to 0.830 and 0.867 PPP and his shooting percentages to 41.1 percent and 39 percent, healthy increases in both situations.”

Ben Golliver of CBSSports.com on KD backing Russell Westbrook: “A public relations professional couldn’t have scripted a better statement from Durant. Importantly, he begins by acknowledging the negative perception and admits that things aren’t totally hunky-dory. That’s big because it establishes credibility and implies a level of honesty in his later comments. He goes on to back Westbrook with more than the usual lip service, heaping praise, pointing to specific strengths and crediting his teammate for his own development. In doing so, he flips the line of criticism that Westbrook is standing in Durant’s path to greatness on its head. When it comes to teammate conflicts, both minor and major, actions always speak much louder than words. But, here, Durant spoke in perfect pitch.”

screw revenue sharing, screw market size and parity, how about at the ownership level, we stop firing coaches who are given zero talent teams to work with, stop hiring coaches who are proven losers just because they have a great sales pitch on how to develop Blake Griffin (yes I mean you LA Clippers), stop keeping so much "in house" and "who you know", and instead start firing GM's who are putting crap on the court (Khan anyone), start firing underperforming coaches, start hiring more qualified (and by more qualified I don't mean more experienced. i mean, BETTER) staff, then fielding a competitive small market team.

Yes, the Thunder got very lucky landing so many top picks in such a small time frame in strong drafts, but parity is not achieved simply by dollars, cents, and market size. A good team can be built on the backs of not only good players, but a good organization. Let's not forget that Seattle, Portland, San Antonio, Salt Lake City, Sacramento, all have put very good teams, finals contenders even, on the floor for extended periods of time in small markets. Winning puts butts in seats, eyes on television sets, and money in pockets. I wish they'd stop working on fixing the symptoms and actually do something about the problem... the fact that these franchises don't have a clue what they're doing.

I mean seiously.. Vinny Frikkin Del Negro is still an NBA Head Coach, and David Khan can draft 5 players at the same position and trade 5 top 10 picks for 25 second round picks and still keep his job while firing the Assistant GM and Head Coach.. GTFOH

@ Keith </It is the providence of all gentlemen (and women) to disagree, and I certainly would AGREE that it is a reflection of our obscene obsession with physical prowess and athletic achievement that anyone can command any of these salaries for running, jumping, and putting a ball through a metal rim. But the market forces appear to support them in general, and in profoundly oversimplified terms, I think this is a dispute between player agents and representatives who want to take advantage of stupid GMs and the GMs who want to exploit the young and naive players. Let's hear these team owners put their "parity" money where their mouth is, and tinker with the revenue sharing percentages between themselves before they insist on giving the players a smaller piece of the pie!

@ girlballerI agree with part of your premise, in that the owners have created this bed, and it is somewhat unfair for them now refuse to lie in it. But I really can't side with the players either. If anyone who frequents this site suddenly was given the MLE (5-6 million before tax), they would be set for the rest of their lives. The numbers may bear out that players are closer to being me than the owners, but anyone who can blow millions of dollars in half a season of lost games doesn't deserve my sympathy.

I would like for both sides to find a compromise, but I would rather there be a system in place where teams can all compete, where LA, NY, and Boston aren't the only cities in the US. I probably want more of what the owners want to happen, but it shouldn't be excessively one-sided.

I appreciate the candor of Nick Collison so much! Even when he was being less than enthusiastic about the climate in Oklahoma City vs. Seattle, I really, really like the fact that he will tell you exactly what he thinks, even if it isn't what you want to hear. I agree with him totally about the apparent position of the NBA ownership groups, and the sad fact that there will not be an agreement reached (unless the players union caves completely) until some regular season games have been lost, and more importantly, until the players have missed a paycheck or two.

I understand the position that "this is just business", and that the vast majority of the NBA team owner do not pay THEIR mortgages with the revenue from the team (former owner George Shinn notwithstanding)and therefore are negotiating from the position of power here, but I cannot help but be generally on the side of the players who have to swallow the argument that it is somehow THEIR fault that the individual organizations can't manage their teams finances and salaries in such a way to make themselves profitable. The change to a 50-50 or better ownership revenue split would be particularly galling, I would think, for someone who is literally expending the sweat from their own brow (have you ever noticed how much Nick Collison sweats?!?)to earn those $$$.

Side note:Thabo gets ranked 134 by ESPN. The comment attached expects him to get demoted in favor of Harden next year. I am a little surprised how high he went (it implies he could be a starter on a number of teams), but appreciate the bump.

Jeff Green comes in at 124, with less than positive comments attached. 124 puts him smack dab in the middle of 4 forwards with a lot of potential, but not much production (JJ Hickson, Tyrus Thomas, and Tyler Hansbrough).